Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat
Ayodhya Kalidasi Vidyaniketan blends tradition, mentorship, and self-reliance through its annual Freshers’ Reception and Food Festival.
While “freshers’ receptions” are usually associated with colleges and universities, Ayodhya Kalidasi Vidyaniketan has quietly redefined the tradition at the school level. For the past few years, the rural institution has been formally welcoming its newest students—those admitted to Classes V and VI—through a thoughtfully curated Nabin Baran (Freshers’ Welcome) ceremony.
With the start of the 2026 academic session, the school once again embraced its incoming students in a program led not by administrators, but by senior students. Girls from Class X—Nandita, Diya, and Bristi—welcomed the newcomers by applying sandalwood marks on their foreheads, tying rakhi threads on their wrists, and presenting them with identity cards, pens, and notebooks.
Among those welcomed were Priyanka Barman, Babli Hansda, and Deb Choudhury from Class V, and Raj Baske, Piyush Das, and Megha Murmu from Class VI. The ceremony emphasized care, belonging, and mentorship, reinforcing bonds between senior and junior students.
The event coincided with the school’s third consecutive Pithe-Puli and Food Festival, a celebration of traditional Bengali cuisine and student entrepreneurship. Stalls run by students such as Anima Baske, Rupali Hemrom, Babita Lohar, Deep Mali, and Diya Mali offered an array of homemade delicacies, including dudh pitha, patishapta, tel pitha, gorgora, as well as popular street foods like fuchka, papor, ghugni, chop, and chowmein.
Teachers—including Headmistress Nandita Das and faculty members Debashis Mondal, Arpita Halder, Bandana Toppo, Subrata Dutta Chowdhury, Sulagna Banerjee, Nicholas Hemrom, and Piuli Mondal—visited the stalls, purchased food from the students, and sampled the dishes. Many of the preparations were supported by parents, turning the festival into a collaborative community effort.
Students expressed visible joy at selling their food and managing the stalls, gaining early lessons in responsibility and self-reliance.
“Our aim,” said Headmistress Nandita Das, “is to introduce students to Bengali culture, encourage self-sufficiency, and warmly welcome our new students into the school family.”
In an era when education is often measured by test scores alone, Ayodhya Kalidasi Vidyaniketan’s celebration stood as a reminder that schools can also be places where culture, confidence, and community are carefully nurtured.
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